The Cutlass Gang would not be foolish enough to fight Charles at a time like this.
They did not know the Undertow Pirate Crew's strength, but Kerry currently had only two ships at his side as well. If they fought now, casualties would definitely be heavy.
They turned around at once, planning to wait for the Garrote Pirate Crew's ships and use their numbers to overwhelm the enemy.
However, while small ships could turn easily at sea, doing so against the wind still took quite some time.
Charles's two ships had already closed to within less than two nautical miles.
Yet Kerry of the Cutlass Gang was not panicking.
The sea was unlike land. Without any other long-range means of attack, two nautical miles was still a great distance.
Charles looked at the sky and knew that the longer this dragged on, the worse things would become. So he began casting a spell.
Summon Abyss Kuo-toa.
He held the Crystal Ball in one hand while summoning Mermen with the other.
These Abyss Kuo-toa appeared directly in the sea: several first-rank Abyss Kuo-toa and over twenty apprentice-rank ones.
Following Charles's command, the Abyss Kuo-toa pursued the Cutlass Gang's ships beneath the waves.
At sea, every ship was valuable. If possible, no one would be willing to sink one.
But now that the ships were in enemy hands, surviving came first.
The Abyss Kuo-toa charged straight at the Cutlass Gang's ships and got to work beneath their hulls.
Thud! Thud! Thud!!
Using harpoons and other weapons, the Mermen began boring into the bottoms of the Cutlass Gang's ships.
At first, the Cutlass Gang noticed nothing at all.
But before long, the pirates below deck heard the sounds.
One pirate pressed his ear against the hull, and his face quickly changed. "Not good!